Climate change?

March 24, 2013

A resolution was introduced in the Senate (SCR4024) which directed "the Legislature to study the effects of climate change on this state." The Senate Natural Resources Committee recommended a 'do not pass'.

Did they vote it down because they do not believe in climate change? A recent Harvard study reports that the earth's temperature is rising super fast, and NASA states climate changes will be larger than anything we've ever seen. And new satellite data has confirmed that both poles have melted faster in the last 20 years than in the last 10,000 years.

So, don't our legislators believe in climate change?

And if they do, why wouldn't they want to understand how it will effect North Dakota? Agriculture still remains our number one industry, and all farmers know that what crops are raised on their land depends on the climate.

We already know that a mere rise of 1 degree Fahrenheit globally over the past 50 years has caused a 5.5 percent decline in wheat production according to a Stanford University professor. The legislature's own advisory organization predicts that climate change will affect North Dakota's agriculture and economy for the worse.

Does the Senate Natural Resources Committee not believe their own professional organization?

Or is the Senate Natural Resources Committee afraid to recognize the obvious, that much of the greenhouse gasses that are being emitted in North Dakota could be prevented? How can our state allow one third of our natural gas to be flared (a precious resource lost forever), and contribute to climate change?

If this resolution would pass, the state may learn that wind and solar should be supported for farmers and corporations alike.

I hope that the entire Senate will be more enlightened than the Senate Natural Resources Committee and vote to pass SCR 4024.